Our Heavenly Inheritance

Posted on by korgrocker

“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.”
1 Peter 1:3-5 NLT

According to Peter’s letter, we have an inheritance waiting for us in Heaven. That is, for those who are believers, of course. Someone who has denied God and turned his or her backs on His offer of grace through His Son Jesus will miss out. No point really in their having a Heavenly inheritance, because they won’t be going to Heaven anyway. But we pilgrims, followers of Jesus Christ, and who have embraced His salvation, now “live with great expectation” about the “priceless inheritance” awaiting us.

But what is this “pure and undefiled” inheritance? If we have thoughts of anything we see as valuable in this life, such as a nice fat bank account, or a few bars of gold, we will be very mistaken, because our earthly currencies won’t appear in Heaven. Popular cartoons depict an angel with wings, dressed in white, and sitting on a cloud plucking a harp, but that won’t be it either. No, our inheritance in Heaven will be everything that God has promised us when we embraced His offer of salvation. We won’t need any “stuff” in Heaven because we will have God Himself. Eternal life in Heaven is our inheritance. We get a glimpse of some of that this means from Revelation 21:4, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”” All the negatives that we experience in our lives here on Planet Earth won’t be in Heaven. I’m sure we can think of many more.

Jesus told His disciples about our Heavenly inheritance in Matthew 6:19-21, “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be”. 

We have no idea of the full extent on what we can expect when we get to Heaven. In fact, although life in Heaven is our expectation, there are verses in Revelation that indicate that we will still be spending our lives here on Earth, though by then the earth as we know it will have been replaced. Revelation 21:1,3, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. …  I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them”. There are also verses that talk about us pilgrims ruling and reigning with Christ. Revelation 20:6, “Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years”.

Eternal life will be amazing. The treasure in Heaven, our inheritance, will be Jesus Himself. It doesn’t get better than that!

Father God. We look forward with eager anticipation for the time when we cross the threshold into Heaven. Come Lord Jesus! Amen.

God’s Great Mercy

Posted on by korgrocker

“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.”
1 Peter 1:3-5 NLT

In the previous verse, Peter wrote about grace. But he moves on now, to writing about God’s “great mercy”. What’s the difference? I came across this definition recently, “In His mercy, God does not give us [the] punishment we deserve, namely hell; while in His grace, God gives us the gift we do not deserve, namely Heaven”. That mercy is surely “great”. Imagine turning up in a court of law, knowing that we were guilty of the crime for which we have been charged, only to hear the judge declare us not guilty through an act of mercy. Our guilt was undisputed. Our punishment was deserved. But the judge had mercy on us. It will never happen we think, but God’s mercy extends well beyond that analogy, because He not only declares that we are guilt-free. By His grace He allows us to be born again into His Kingdom.

Nicodemus, in his night-time visit to Jesus, couldn’t get his mind around this at all. The concept of being reborn spiritually had never occurred to him. We read his earth-bound response to being born again in John 3:4, ““What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”” Jesus clearly explained to him the difference between a natural birth and a spiritual birth, and the necessity of both to be come a child of God. Jesus said in John 3:5-7, “Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’” God, in His great mercy, and through the Holy Spirit, brought us believers through a second birth.

Sadly, today, being a “born again” believer is treated with scorn and contempt by the media and anyone else who considers spiritual matters the source of ridicule. But Jesus was very clear about the necessity of being reborn spiritually to become citizens of, and in, the Kingdom of Heaven. If we only experience a natural, physical birth, that is how our lives will end, because we know that one day our natural bodies will die and decay, one way or another. But a spiritually-born person will find that after their natural bodies have died, their spirits will continue to live in God’s Kingdom. He promised never to leave us. And one day our spirits will be united with a new body. We read what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:1,3,  “For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands … For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies“.

God’s grace and mercy are intertwined into a loving outworking of His character. There was that moment when God chose to express His love for mankind by sending His Son, Jesus, to this planet, to save us from the consequences of our sins. We didn’t deserve such kindness. Jesus didn’t deserve to die. But it was all part of God’s plan. We are spiritual beings and God has planted within us His Spirit as a guarantee of the life to come. God is mercy. He can’t be anything else.

Dear Father God. Thank You for Your Heavenly blessings, so rich and undeserved. We worship You today and every day. Amen.

Known and Chosen

Posted on by korgrocker

“ … I am writing to God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. May God give you more and more grace and peace.”
1 Peter 1:1b-2 NLT

The believers living in Turkey were to be the readers of Peter’s first epistle. And Peter highlighted several things about them. Firstly, they were a people “chosen”  by God, and the choice was made “long ago”. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes” (Ephesians 1:4). It is an amazing thought that when God created the world He could see all of time rolled out before Him and He could see who would be His chosen people in every time slot. But Peter wasn’t promoting a strange idea – the Holy Spirit had revealed it to him and the other Apostles. Of course, some people will say that it is pointless wanting to be a Christian because God has selected, has “chosen”, who He wants as His followers. If you are not one of the “chosen” ones then hard luck! Others will say that God’s choice was based on His knowledge of what the believer would choose. But either way, Peter encouraged the believers in Turkey with the thought that God knew them and chose them.

Secondly, Peter informed the Turkish believers that they were “holy” through His Spirit. They had been “cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ”. The amazing fact about Jesus’ death at Calvary was that Jesus took on board all our sins and in return gave us His righteousness, so that all believers everywhere can stand before God in holiness. The believers in the five provinces had come to Jesus in repentance, leaving the burden of their sin at the foot of His cross. As Peter pointed out, this act of repentance was through their obedience to God.

Thirdly, Peter pointed out that “God’s chosen people” were foreigners. Strange, because these people lived there in the region of the five provinces. They had most likely been born there and brought up in that society. So how could they have been “foreigners”? This is something that we believers need to realise and accept. Jesus said in John 15:18-19, “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you”. When were chosen to be His followers, we moved citizenship from the kingdom of the world to the Kingdom of Heaven. We have a new passport. Paul wrote in Philippians 3:20, “But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Saviour”. The problem for us pilgrims is that we are keen to cling onto “dual nationality”. We like to have a foot in each camp, in each kingdom. 

Peter now moved on to give a blessing to his readers. “More and more grace and peace” he wrote. With what we know of the challenges facing the early adopters of faith in Jesus, they would need all the grace in God’s treasure chest to be able to live in peace in an antagonistic society.

Jesus commanded us to “come out of the world” because we are no longer a part of it. Of course, we have to live in our societies, work in our offices and factories, go to secular schools and colleges. But in it all we remember what is written on our passports. We have been born again into a new Kingdom, and one day we will join Jesus there. And we too will need all the “grace and peace” available to be able to survive unscathed and uncorrupted in a foreign land.

Father God. Thank You for choosing us to be Your children. Amen.

Peter

Posted on by korgrocker

“This letter is from Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. I am writing to God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.”
1 Peter 1:1 NLT

We start looking at a different New Testament author today – the Apostle Peter. A man who led a life of change, transitioning from a coarse fisherman to an Apostle who probably preached one of the most successful evangelistic sermons ever recorded. But his “career” didn’t stop there – we now look at his influential words as recorded in his two epistles. 

The gospel of Luke records that Peter was a dejected fisherman, who had caught nothing all night, when Jesus asked him to push his boat out a bit from the shore so that He could use it as a pulpit. We pick up the story in Luke 5:4, “When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish””. Peter basically said to Him that there was no point because there were no fish around but he obeyed Jesus anyway and was rewarded with a huge catch of fish. Peter’s response was recorded in Luke 5:8, “When Simon Peter realised what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man””. A pivotal moment for Peter that started him on an amazing journey because of Jesus’ response, recorded in Luke 5:10-11, “His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed. Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus”. The fisherman became a fisher of men. He entered a life marked by highs and lows as he followed Jesus, learning from Him and making the transition to the “rock” of the early church. We read in Matthew 16:18, “Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it”. 

Peter’s authority took a severe dent when he denied Jesus three times before His trial and crucifixion. But Jesus gently restored him with a conversation recorded in John 21. Something significant happened to Peter, and the rest of the disciples, on the Day of Pentecost. You know the story, I’m sure, but Peter was transformed by the Holy Spirit within him, and went on to preach a sermon at the end of which 3000 men were saved. And all without a microphone and a PA system! But there is one pivotal verse that is foundational for anyone seeking, or called, to become a Christian – Acts 2:38, “Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit“. Three things a potential convert must do, and then one amazing gift from God.

But back to 1 Peter 1:1. Peter is writing a letter to God’s people in five provinces, all locations in what is now modern Turkey. In the following blogs we will unpick what he said to these people, and particularly, what Peter has to say to us pilgrims today.

Father God. We thank You for the fisherman Peter, and for the foundational impact he had on the early church in the power of the Spirit. As we consider his words in these letters, please help us to hear what You have to say to us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

In Conclusion

Posted on by korgrocker

“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”
Romans 16:24 NKJV
“Now all glory to God, who is able to make you strong, just as my Good News says. This message about Jesus Christ has revealed his plan for you Gentiles, a plan kept secret from the beginning of time. But now as the prophets foretold and as the eternal God has commanded, this message is made known to all Gentiles everywhere, so that they too might believe and obey him. All glory to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, forever. Amen.”
Romans 16:25-27 NLT

In Romans 15:33 we read what looked like a final greeting at the end of the letter, but then Paul continued to write about his friends and fellow workers in chapter 16. Some manuscripts then include another “final greeting” in Romans 16:24. Perhaps the letter was assembled at different times, and Paul was reluctant to say it was finished. He could have been anxious to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything, but in the process he sent a double blessing to the Roman believers, God’s peace and the Lord Jesus Christ’s grace.

Paul concludes his letter with a reference to the “Good News”, which was where he started in Romans 1, and he reminded the believers in Rome that the Good News would give them strength. Paul continued by reminding them of something else, and that was the revelation that the Good News was finally made public, a secret no more, and because it included the Gentiles, who had a significant presence in the Romans Church. So the Good News was a revelation of God’s secret plan to make God’s grace universally available to all peoples and nations. There were no exclusions, except for those who rejected God.

In Romans 1:1 we read, “This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News”. That was his mandate. And Paul ends his letter giving glory to God. He knew it wasn’t about him. He knew he was a man with a mission limited by his humanity, but his passion was to do what he could in his time in which he lived, to share God’s heart with anyone who would listen. His theological and oratorical skills convinced many, and offended even more, but he was a driven man, aware of limited time to share God’s grace. We have read the end of the story, and we know that God’s patience will not last for ever. There will be a time when a Heavenly “enough!” will cry out over this world, and God’s Son, Jesus will appear for a second time. God’s glory will fill the heavens, and usher in a new dawn. 

Paul gave glory to God with all he was and all he said. We pilgrims must also. We have in our hands Paul’s baton, running the race for the pilgrim team. The race course is before us. And the people we meet on our journeys need to know all about God’s Good News. For every person who joins the race with us we give God all the glory. It is all about Him and His plan for mankind, a plan so gracious and loving we can only wonder and worship the only One who really matters.

Father God, as we conclude our journey through the Book of Romans, I pray that all who read it will be richly blessed. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Paul’s Fellow Workers

Posted on by korgrocker

“Timothy, my fellow worker, sends you his greetings, as do Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my fellow Jews. I, Tertius, the one writing this letter for Paul, send my greetings, too, as one of the Lord’s followers. Gaius says hello to you. He is my host and also serves as host to the whole church. Erastus, the city treasurer, sends you his greetings, and so does our brother Quartus.”
Romans 16:21-23 NLT

Another eight names appear in Paul’s letter to the Romans. We know of course about Timothy; in fact we know quite a bit about him. Paul nurtured him as a “true son in the faith” – “I am writing to Timothy, my true son in the faith. May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy, and peace” (1 Timothy 1:2). He was well taught in the faith by his mother and grandmother, “I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you” (2 Timothy 1:5). Timothy probably pastored the Ephesian church for a while – in his first letter to Timothy, Paul wrote, “When I left for Macedonia, I urged you to stay there in Ephesus and stop those whose teaching is contrary to the truth” (1 Timothy 1:3). And Timothy was obviously ill with some gastric condition – Paul advised him to, “Don’t drink only water. You ought to drink a little wine for the sake of your stomach because you are sick so often” (1 Timothy 5:23). And there are other little gems about Timothy that we can pick up from Paul’s letters.

Then we find that Paul didn’t write this letter himself, but used the services of a secretary called Tertius. From the customs and traditions of the time, we can draw other conclusions about Tertius. He may have been known by the Roman believers, because that is why he greeted them in this letter. Other traditions say he may have been a slave who went on to become a Bishop, but the one fact we do know something about is that he faithfully transcribed all of Paul’s thoughts and instructions. Perhaps he even thought “How much more, as he started the umpteenth new page!” 

Gaius was the church host, we read, and Erastus was a man in high office, being the city treasurer – a useful man to have in the church role! But in this list of names, a picture of men of solid faith emerges. We are so grateful for the early Christians because of the legacy they left us. We know little about them, and for every name that Paul mentioned there were many more working behind the scenes. But their fortitude in difficult times is a glowing testimony to the love and power of God. We pilgrims today have the opportunity to leave a legacy for the generations and generations following us. We mustn’t waste the opportunities that we have.

Dear Father God. Our gratitude to those early Christians knows no bounds. You know who they are and we look forward to being able to thank them personally one day. Amen.

The Lord’s Grace

Posted on by korgrocker

“But everyone knows that you are obedient to the Lord. This makes me very happy. I want you to be wise in doing right and to stay innocent of any wrong. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.”
Romans 16:19-20 NLT

“May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you”, Paul concludes. What a lovely thought to leave with the Roman believers. The word “grace” means favour, blessings and kindness. But the sobering thought is that because of our sin we deserve the opposite. That God chooses to bless us through His grace inevitably must bring us to our knees in grateful worship. We read Ephesians 2:8, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.” We don’t deserve fellowship and life with God, because He is a sinless and pure Being, whereas we are sinful and impure. But the fact is that Jesus took on Himself the punishment that we deserved for our sins and in return He gave us His righteousness, so that rather than see sinful humans, God sees Jesus. That’s divine grace!

Paul’s prayer about the grace of the Lord being with us means that we must be gracious in our relationships with others. Our selfish behaviour often upsets other people. Other people’s selfish behaviour often upsets us. But as we extend the grace of God to others, two things have an opportunity to happen. Firstly, God will be able to reveal Himself through our kindness. Secondly, as we share God’s grace, we too will experience His kindness within us. Paul wrote that we must even “clothe” ourselves in grace. Colossians 3:12, “Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience”. 

Another area of grace comes in forgiveness. In Colossians 3:13, Paul wrote, “Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others”. That’s grace.

There is a lovely gracious blessing that the Lord instructed Moses to give to the priests. We read in Numbers 6:23-27, “Tell Aaron and his sons to bless the people of Israel with this special blessing: ‘May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favour and give you his peace.’ Whenever Aaron and his sons bless the people of Israel in my name, I myself will bless them.”

This is how God’s grace works – He has poured it out on us so that we can do the same to those around us. We can’t show God’s grace unless we have received it ourselves. So when Paul issued the greeting “May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you” he was praying that the grace we receive through Jesus would enhance and improve every day of our lives. Thank You Lord!

Dear Father God. Your grace is limitless and eternal. May it transform our lives and the communities where we live. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Obedient to the Lord

Posted on by korgrocker

“But everyone knows that you are obedient to the Lord. This makes me very happy. I want you to be wise in doing right and to stay innocent of any wrong. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.”
Romans 16:19-20 NLT

Paul is happy because he knows that the Roman believers are obedient followers of Christ. A faith statement on his part, but one he felt, through the whispering of the Holy Spirit within him, to be the case. In those days, without the benefit of the New Testament writings, the truth about God’s plan and His message of salvation through Jesus came through reference to the Jewish Bible and through the Apostles’ teaching. And of course the Truth came through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Paul implied through the next few words in Romans 16:19 that “obedience to the Lord” would lead to righteous living which was wisdom, but he also appealed to his readers to stay innocent of any wrongdoing. In other words they should avoid sin. The person of satan emerged as a potential assailant, but through “the God of peace” he would soon be a defeated foe. 

We pilgrims today have a much easier time in knowing right from wrong, and how to be “obedient to the Lord”. But translating that “knowing” into practice in our society today is far from easy. Even the church leaders in our land are promoting behaviour that the Bible clearly says is wrong. If Paul was around today, would he still be “very happy”? Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love me, obey my commandments”. Obedience to Christ is fundamental to the Christian. At best, it may appear old fashioned in the eyes of the world. But at worst it may lead to imprisonment or even death, as in other nations. We must stand firm – “But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority” (Acts 5:29). The Gospel that we preach is counter-cultural and to many an offence because it challenges lifestyles, and attitudes and more. But we have to be obedient in doing what God has asked us to do, because salvation comes through Jesus. Jesus said in John 14:6, “ … I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me”. When challenged by Jesus about his future relationship with Him, “Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God”” (John 6:68-69).

We pilgrims have a clear understanding of how we should live our lives. But obedience to the Lord is a key that will unlock the doors of Heaven. We cannot compromise. In this season of “Pride” marches, I read today of a Christian councillor who tweeted on social media, “Pride is not a virtue but a sin“. As a result he has been suspended from the Conservative Party, and “cancelled” by six other organisations. Here is his full tweet, “When did Pride become a thing to celebrate. Because of Pride Satan fell as an arch Angel. Pride is not a virtue but a Sin. Those who have Pride should Repent of their sins and return to Jesus Christ. He can save you“. And he quoted Isaiah 3:9, “The very look on their faces gives them away. They display their sin like the people of Sodom and don’t even try to hide it. They are doomed! They have brought destruction upon themselves“. Obedience to the Lord is going to cost us, folks. But there is no other way. Again I write that we cannot compromise.

Dear Father God. We pray together for the Christian Councillor who has lost so much for standing firm on Your Word. Please restore to him all that he has lost and more. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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An Afterthought

Posted on by korgrocker

“And now I make one more appeal, my dear brothers and sisters. Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them. Such people are not serving Christ our Lord; they are serving their own personal interests. By smooth talk and glowing words they deceive innocent people.”
Romans 16:17-18 NLT

Paul suddenly remembered something. Probably a thought popped into his mind, put there by the still small voice of the Holy Spirit within him. And it was a very important thought, a warning even, in those days before the canon of Scripture had been established. Paul’s concern was for the integrity of the faith in the Roman believers, and he started his warning with “watch out for people”. In those days without Google and social media, without media outlets or TV, it was through travellers that news was shared, and apparently some travellers had funny ideas about the Christian faith. Such people would potentially “cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what [they] have been taught”. 

Those were the days in which the Gnostics were emerging. These people taught that salvation could be found by special knowledge, and redemption could be found within us. Gnostics believed that there is a “spark” of God within us that could be released into self-redemption where we could be freed from our corrupt body and reach God. This was a doctrine that seemed attractive to many and it was supported by a quasi-religious belief system that seemed to dovetail well into the true faith. All the characters were there, such as God and Jesus, but they bore no resemblance to the true God, and His Son Jesus who died for us at Calvary. Sadly Gnosticism is still present today, and, arguably, has emerged in the transgender ideology, which involves a person ‘escaping’ from the body they were born with and instead choosing their gender based on how they feel.

Pastor Paul was concerned about the flock in Rome, warning them to look out for people who preached ideas and doctrines counter to what they had been taught originally, about Jesus and Him crucified for their sins. These wayward preachers are just “serving their own personal interests”, he said. Perhaps they hoped to get some financial benefit from sharing their divisive messages. At the end of his first letter to Timothy, Paul wrote, “Timothy, guard what God has entrusted to you. Avoid godless, foolish discussions with those who oppose you with their so-called knowledge. Some people have wandered from the faith by following such foolishness. May God’s grace be with you all (1 Timothy 6:20-21). The old Apostle John was also aware of error and wrote in 1 John 4:3, “But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here”. John also recorded what Jesus said to the church in Pergamum, “But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin. In a similar way, you have some Nicolaitans among you who follow the same teaching” (Revelation 2:14-15).

Erroneous teaching was rife in the first century, but we can’t be complacent today. There are different denominations that have doctrines or Biblical interpretations that disagree with each other. Sometimes, there is an emphasis on a particular Biblical truth to the exclusion of another. And, worse, there are church leaders in established denominations who question, dilute or abandon Biblical truths and try and absorb worldly practices into their churches. Just the other day there was a news report about a Bishop in the Anglican church who said that referring to God as “Father” was a problem, in spite of what the Bible says to the contrary. As in Paul’s day, we too must “Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what [we] have been taught“. Thankfully, in 21st Century Planet Earth, we have God’s Word, the Bible, to refer to, and as we hold fast to the Bible’s teaching we will continue to walk the path that leads to eternal life.

Father God, we thank You for Your Word and the teaching of Your Son, Jesus. Please help us to hold fast to the Holy Scriptures, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Holy Kiss

Posted on by korgrocker

“Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.”
Romans‬ ‭16‬:‭16‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Here is a custom that is quite foreign to us Western types. A “holy kiss”? What is that all about? Of course we see people in other parts of the world greeting each other with something that looks like a kiss, and this was probably the case in the Middle Eastern culture of Paul’s day. But in our Western expressions of Christianity it is unusual to engage with another person, particularly someone who isn’t close to us, in this way.

There are three other mentions of a “holy kiss” in the New Testament, and all in letters written by Paul. But in those days it was no big deal, because greeting someone with a kiss was the equivalent of what a handshake would be today. It should be emphasised that this was a “holy kiss” as against one that was unholy, which would have sexual or hypocritical connotations.

Some years ago, I was in a church meeting, and at a certain point in the service we were encouraged to give each other a “holy kiss”. Inevitably there was some embarrassed giggling, and most people refused to get involved, but next to me there was a man with a beard who had no such inhibitions and without warning I was aware of this hairy chin too close to me for comfort! I know a young Christian man who has mild Asperger’s, and he cannot bear anyone touching him, so just as well he wasn’t there in that meeting.

We of course remember the account of another kiss, one that was far from being holy. We read in Luke 22:47-48, “But even as Jesus said this, a crowd approached, led by Judas, one of the twelve disciples. Judas walked over to Jesus to greet him with a kiss. But Jesus said, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”” A sad encounter and one that sealed Judas’ doom.

To those early Christians, the “holy kiss” was particularly special, because it was morally pure and blameless, and it signified love, affection and friendship. In that context we too can uphold the same principles, perhaps by taking someone’s hand or giving them a hug. After all, we are members of the greatest organisation, if we can call it that, this world has ever seen. We are united by our love for each other and our love of God. That’s surely worth a lot more than a handshake!

Dear Father God. You created us to be warm and loving beings, full of Your love and grace. Please help us to view our fellow believers as You see them. In Jesus’ name. Amen,